COMPACT OPTO-ELECTRONIC MODULES AND FABRICATION METHODS FOR SUCH MODULES
Various optoelectronic modules are described and include one or more optoelectronic devices. Each optoelectronic module includes one or more optoelectronic devices. Sidewalls laterally surround each optoelectronic device and can be in direct contact with sides of the optoelectronic device or, in some cases, with an overmold surrounding the optoelectronic device. The sidewalls can be composed, for example, of a vacuum injected material that is non-transparent to light emitted by or detectable by the optoelectronic device. The module also includes a passive optical element. Depending on the implementation, the passive optical element can be on a cover for the module, directly on a top surface of the optoelectronic device, or on an overmold surrounding the optoelectronic device. Methods of fabricating such modules are described as well, and can facilitate manufacturing the modules using wafer-level processes.
This disclosure relates to compact optoelectronic modules and fabrication methods for such modules.
BACKGROUNDSmartphones and other devices sometimes include miniaturized optoelectronic modules such as light modules, sensors or cameras. Light modules can include a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode (LED), an infra-red (IR) LED, an organic LED (OLED), an infra-red (IR) laser or a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) that emits light through a lens to outside the device. Other modules can include a light detecting element. For example, CMOS and CCD image sensors can be used in primary or front facing cameras. Likewise, proximity sensors and ambient light sensors can include a light sensing element such as a photodiode. The light emitting and light detecting modules as well as cameras can be used in various combinations. Thus, for example, a light module such as a flash module can be used in combination with a camera that has an imaging sensor. Light emitting modules in combination with light detecting modules also can be used for other applications such as gesture recognition or IR illumination.
One challenge when integrating an optoelectronic module into a device such as a smartphone is how to reduce light leakage from the light source in the light module, or how to prevent incoming stray light from impinging, for example, in the case of sensors or cameras. Although various techniques can be used to achieve these features, it can be difficult to do so in a manner than results in very compact modules, which can be particularly important for smart phones and other devices in which space is at a premium.
SUMMARYThis disclosure describes compact optoelectronic modules and fabrication methods for such modules. Each optoelectronic module includes one or more optoelectronic devices. Sidewalls laterally surround each optoelectronic device and can be in direct contact with sides of the optoelectronic device or, in some cases, with an overmold surrounding the optoelectronic device. The sidewalls can be composed, for example, of a vacuum injected material that is non-transparent to light emitted by or detectable by the optoelectronic device. The module also includes a passive optical element. Depending on the implementation, the passive optical element can be on a cover for the module, directly on a top surface of the optoelectronic device, or on an overmold surrounding the optoelectronic device.
In one aspect, for example, an optoelectronic module includes an optoelectronic device mounted on a substrate. Sidewalls of the module laterally surround the optoelectronic device and are in direct contact with sides of the optoelectronic device. The sidewalls can be composed, for example, of a vacuum injected material that is non-transparent to light emitted by or detectable by the optoelectronic device. The module also includes a transparent cover disposed over the optoelectronic device. In some implementations, the transparent cover is a passive optical element or can has a passive optical element attached to its surface.
One or more of the following features also are present in some implementations. For example, the sidewalls of the module can be composed of a UV or thermally-cured polymer material containing a non-transparent filler material. The transparent cover can be separated from the substrate by the sidewalls. In some implementations, a passive optical element (e.g., a lens) is disposed directly on an upper surface of the optoelectronic device. In such cases, the passive optical element also can serve as a cover for the module itself. In some cases, the non-transparent material that forms the sidewalls of the module is overmolded on the upper surface of the optoelectronic device. The overmolded material can define a cavity for the location of the passive optical element.
According to another aspect, an optoelectronic module includes an optoelectronic device and sidewalls laterally surrounding the optoelectronic device and in direct contact with sides of the optoelectronic device. The sidewalls can be composed of a material that is non-transparent to light emitted by or detectable by the optoelectronic device. A passive optical element is disposed on an upper surface of the optoelectronic device, and electrically conductive contacts are on an underside of the optoelectronic device and arranged to mount the module directly on a printed circuit board of a host device. Thus, the module can be arranged such that the optoelectronic device can be mounted directly onto an external printed circuit board without the need for an intervening PCB or other substrate.
In yet a further aspect, an optoelectronic module includes an optoelectronic device mounted on a substrate and a transparent overmold laterally surrounding sides of the optoelectronic device and covering a top surface of the optoelectronic device. The overmold is in direct contact with the optoelectronic device. The module further includes a passive optical element on a top surface of the overmold, and sidewalls laterally surrounding the optoelectronic device and in direct contact with sides of the overmold. Such implementations can be useful, for example, where the optoelectronic device itself does not include a transparent cover. Further, the top surface of the overmold can be shaped to accommodate variously-shaped lenses or other passive optical elements, or to act, for example, as a prism.
Methods of fabricating the modules also are described. Such methods can include wafer-level fabrication techniques that allow multiple optoelectronic modules to be made at the same time. In some implementations, the methods include one or more replication and/or vacuum injection tools to form various features of the modules.
In some implementations, the modules can be made relatively compact, with a relatively small footprint and/or a small overall height. Such small, compact modules can be particularly advantageous for mobile phones and other devices in which space is at a premium.
Other aspects, features and advantages will be readily apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings and the claims.
The present disclosure describes various compact optoelectronic modules that include non-transparent spacers which serve as sidewalls for the module. An example of such a module is illustrated in
A transparent module cover 30 composed, for example, of glass, sapphire or a polymer material, is separated from the substrate 24 by a spacer 32. The transparent module cover 30 generally is transparent to wavelengths of light emitted or detectable by the optoelectronic device 22, although it may be surrounded at its sides by non-transparent material 33. The spacer 32 preferably is composed of a non-transparent material, which surrounds the optoelectronic device 22 laterally and serves as sidewalls for the module 20. As illustrated in
In some implementations, attached to one side of the transparent module cover 30 is an optical element such as a lens or diffuser 34. In the illustrated example of
The optoelectronic device 22 can be mounted to the PCB substrate 24 using flip chip technology. For example, the underside of the device 22 can include one or more solder balls or other conductive contacts 38 that electrically couple the optoelectronic device 22 to conductive pads on the surface of the PCB substrate 24. To provide further stability, the area between the bottom surface of the optoelectronic device 22 and the top surface of the PCB substrate 24 can be filled with an adhesive underfill 42. The PCB substrate 24, in turn, can include plated conductive vias that extend from the conductive pads vertically through the substrate 24 and that are coupled to one or more solder balls or other conductive contacts 40 on the exterior side of the substrate 24. The conductive contacts 40 allow the module 20 to be mounted, for example, on a printed circuit board in a handheld device such as a mobile phone, tablet or other consumer electronic device.
The foregoing module can be made relatively compact, with a relatively small footprint. For example, in some implementations, the overall dimensions of the module 20 of
Modules such as the one illustrated in
As shown in the example of
Next, as illustrated in
The optics wafer 116 can be composed, for example, of a PCB material such as G10 or FR4 (which are grade designations assigned to glass-reinforced epoxy laminate materials) with openings that are filled with transmissive material (e.g., glass or plastic). The optics wafer 116 thus has optically transmissive regions 118 separated from one another by non-transparent regions 120. Each optically transmissive region 118 is disposed directly over a corresponding one of the optoelectronic devices 22 and serves as a transparent window for incoming or outgoing light of a particular wavelength or range of wavelengths (i.e., light emitted by or detectable by the device 22). In some implementations, the width (or diameter) of each transmissive region 118 is slightly smaller than the corresponding width (or diameter) of the devices 22. In addition, in some implementations, a passive optical element (e.g., a lens) 124 is disposed on the device-side surface of each transmissive region 118. The lenses 124 can be formed on the transmissive regions 118, for example, by a replication technique prior to attaching the optics wafer 116 to the spacer walls 114. In yet other implementations, a passive optical element (e.g., a lens) can be replicated directly into a hole in a non-transparent wafer, which is attached to the spacer 32. In that case, the lens itself also would serve as a transparent cover for the module.
After attaching the optics wafer 116 to the spacer walls 114 as described above, the wafer stack can be separated (e.g., by dicing) along lines 126 into multiple modules such as the module 20 of
In the foregoing fabrication process, the passive optical elements (e.g., lenses 124 in
As shown in
As shown in the example of
To form the replicated optical elements, a replication material (e.g., a liquid, viscous or plastically deformable material) is placed onto the optical replication sections 202, and the top surfaces of the transparent device covers 28 are brought into contact with the tool 104A so that the replication material is pressed between the top surface of each transparent device cover 28 and the optical element replication sections 202. The replication material then is hardened (e.g., by UV or thermal curing) to form replicated optical elements 204 (e.g., lenses) on the surface of the transparent device covers 28 (see
Next, non-transparent material can be injected under vacuum through an inlet 110 in the vacuum chuck 106 so that it fills the spaces 108 (see
The mounted devices 22 then can be separated (e.g., by dicing) along lines 126 into multiple modules such as the module 210 of
As described in the foregoing example of
The foregoing module can be made relatively compact, with a relatively small footprint. For example, in some implementations, the overall dimensions of the module 210 of
In the modules of the foregoing examples (e.g.,
The module of
As shown in
An optical element 204 (e.g., lens) can be replicated on the top surface of each optoelectronic device 22 in a manner similar to that described above in connection with
In addition, non-transparent walls 206 can be formed around each optoelectronic device 22 in a manner similar to that described above in connection with
The combined replication and vacuum injection tool 104A and the vacuum chuck 106 then can be removed. In addition, the modules can be separated from the sacrificial support 312, and the devices 22 can be separated from one another (e.g., by dicing) along lines 126 (see
By forming the lens 34A directly on the top surface of the optoelectronic device 22 and by forming the module such that the solder balls 38 for the optoelectronic device 22 can be mounted directly onto an external printed circuit board without the need for an intervening PCB or other substrate, a highly compact module 310 can be obtained. In particular, the module 310 can have a relatively small overall height.
In the foregoing implementations of
The modules of
In some cases, instead of forming an overmold 510 over each device 22 using the vacuum injection technique described in connection with
An optical element 204A (e.g., lens) can be replicated on the top surface of each overmold region 510 in a manner similar to that described above in connection with
In addition, non-transparent walls 206A can be formed in a manner similar to that described above in connection with
The second tool 504A and the vacuum chuck 506A then can be removed, and the devices 22 can be separated (e.g., by dicing) along lines 126 (see
In the illustrated example of
In some implementations, each module may contain, for example, only a single optoelectronic devices 22 (i.e., a single optical channel) as shown in
As used in this disclosure, the terms “transparent” and non-transparent” are made with reference to wavelength(s) of light in the visible and/or non-visible portions (e.g., infra-red) of the spectrum emitted by or detectable by the light emitting or light detecting elements in the optoelectronic device. Thus, for example, if a particular feature of the module is non-transparent, the feature is substantially non-transparent to the particular wavelength(s) of light emitted by or detectable by the light emitting or light detecting elements in the optoelectronic device. The particular feature may, however, be transparent or partially transparent with respect to other wavelengths.
The modules described here can be used in a wide range of applications, including, for example, ambient light sensors, proximity sensors, flash modules and image sensors, as well as others.
Various modifications can be made to the foregoing examples. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the claims.
Claims
1-41. (canceled)
42. A wafer-level method of fabricating optoelectronic modules, the method comprising:
- providing a support substrate on which are mounted a plurality of optoelectronic devices;
- performing a first vacuum injection technique to surround each optoelectronic device laterally with a transparent overmold region, wherein the overmold region also covers a top surface of the optoelectronic device;
- performing a replication technique to form a respective passive optical element on a top surface of each overmold region; and
- performing a second vacuum injected technique to form sidewalls laterally surrounding and in contact with sides of each overmold region.
43. The method of claim 42 including:
- using a first vacuum injection tool to perform the first vacuum injection technique; and
- using a second combined replication and vacuum injection tool to perform the replication technique and the second vacuum injection technique.
44. The method of claim 42 wherein the sidewalls are composed of a material that is substantially non-transparent to light emitted by or detectable by the optoelectronic devices.
45. The method of claim 42 further including hardening vacuum injected material for the overmold regions by UV or thermal curing.
46. The method of claim 42 further including hardening vacuum injected material for the sidewalls by UV or thermal curing.
47. The method of claim 42 further including separating into individual modules.
48-56. (canceled)
57. A wafer-level method of fabricating optoelectronic modules, the method comprising:
- providing a support substrate on which are mounted a plurality of optoelectronic devices;
- performing a first vacuum injection to surround each optoelectronic device laterally with a transparent overmold, wherein each overmold further covers an upper surface of a respective one of the optoelectronic devices, the overmold having a curved upper surface disposed above the upper surface of the respective one of the optoelectronic devices; and
- performing a second vacuum injection to form sidewalls laterally surrounding and in contact with sides of each overmold region, the sidewalls being composed of a material that is substantially non-transparent to light emitted by or detectable by the optoelectronic devices.
58. The method of claim 57 including removing, prior to performing the second vacuum injection, portions of overmold material applied during the first vacuum injection to form spaces in which the non-transparent material for the sidewalls is subsequently injected.
59. The method of claim 58 wherein removing portions of overmold material includes using a dicing technique.
60. The method of claim 57 wherein each optoelectronic module includes a respective lens disposed over each of the optoelectronic devices.
61. The method of claim 57 wherein the transparent overmolds are composed of an epoxy material.
62. The method of claim 57 wherein the non-transparent material of the sidewalls is composed of an epoxy material.
63. The method of claim 57 further including:
- curing the overmolds after performing the first vacuum injection; and
- curing the material of the sidewalls after performing the second vacuum injection.
64. The method of claim 63 including hardening the overmolds by UV or thermal curing.
65. The method of claim 63 including hardening the material for the sidewalls by UV or thermal curing.
66. The method of claim 57 further including separating into individual optoelectronic modules, each of which includes at least one of the optoelectronic devices laterally surrounded by a transparent overmold whose sides are laterally surrounded by, and in contact with, substantially non-transparent sidewalls.
67. The method of claim 66 including separating into individual optoelectronic modules, each of which includes a plurality of the optoelectronic devices.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 20, 2014
Publication Date: Jul 28, 2016
Patent Grant number: 9640709
Inventors: Simon Gubser (Weesen), Mario Cesana (Au), Markus Rossi (Jona), Hartmut Rudmann (Jona)
Application Number: 14/917,104